We challenged nutritionist Tricia Williams to re-invent the nacho cheesiest of chips as a wholesome treat

In our new column, Junk Food Makeover, we challenge culinary nutritionist Tricia Williams to recreate iconic snacks with a more wholesome, nutritious recipe.

The Challenge: Nacho Cheese Doritos

Our memories of these nacho cheesiest of chips are fond ones: eating them out of the bag at sleepovers, pairing them with Coca-Cola on road trips, getting that greasy orange film on our fingers and happily licking it off. But it's hard to enjoy a bag of Doritos these days now that we've actually read the ingredient list--hydrogenated oils, monosodium glutamate (MSG), artificial flavors and colors--which packs on calories with little nutritional value in return.**

So we challenged nutritionist Tricia Williams to re-invent them as a wholesome treat without compromising on the flavor. She was more than up for the adventure. "I took the real food that was in the ingredients list--red pepper, green pepper, onion, and tomato--and got them locally at the farmer's market, diced them up and dehydrated them," she says. "Then, I pulverized them into a powder and put a little tumeric into it, not so much for flavoring, but to give your hands an orange coating just like the original. So you still have the same sensibilities surrounding it. I made chips out of quinoa and coated them in the flavoring to make a low-glycemic, protein-rich,Doritos-flavored snack."

The Result:

Although slightly more dense than the real thing, there's a nice earthy spice to Williams' chips, and they have very nearly the same zing as Doritos in the finish. The powdery coating has a natural flavor. The one major element missing is cheese; Williams skipped adding dehydrated cheese in favor of nutritional yeast, which she says imparts a cheesy flavor with an extra hit of vitamin B. She did so because many (but not all) of her clients benefit from removing dairy from their diet, seeing improvements in their skin or feeling less bloated. We did miss the cheese, and we'd like a little lime on them to deliver that high flavor note; otherwise, these are a nice substitute for the original snack.

For spice mix: Blend all ingredients together in a spice grinder or vitamix, set aside.

For the chips:Ina mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the quinoa flour and sea salt together, add water gradually. Dough should gather into a ball,continue kneading with hook for 2 minutes. Leave the dough to rest forone hour. Cover it with a damp towel.

Pinch off dough into 11/2inch balls. Dust counter and rolling pin with quinoa flour. Roll each ball into rounds 8 inches in diameter, the size of a tortilla. Set aside on a parchment lined sheet pan.

Heat a skillet on medium to low heat. Spray lightly with high heat oil, like canola or safflower.Cook the tortilla on a heated skillet for 30 seconds. Turn over and heat the other side for another 30 seconds. The tortilla should rise and be golden in color. Remove the quinoa tortilla from the skillet and let cool.

Cut the quinoa tortillas into 6 triangles. Bake them in the oven at 300 degrees until crispy. Remove from oven and toss immediately with spice mix.

Tricia Williams is a culinary nutritionist based in New York City. Her business, Food Matters, is a food delivery service that creates diets to combat health issues.